Amazon has announced an all-new Alexa experience, Amazon Kids on Alexa, designed to help kids learn, play and grow, while being entertained at home.

Available on Echo smart speakers and Echo Show devices, the experience lets kids 12 years and under to discover child-directed content with Alexa from sing-alongs with Amazon Music, to playing games, and telling jokes, while allowing parents to fully manage and control the experience.  

“While Alexa’s been keeping Australian homes organised, entertained and connected, the youngest members of the household have increasingly become curious and interested in engaging with Alexa in their own way,” Amazon Alexa Australia and New Zealand head of product, Kate Gooden said.

“We’re excited to launch Amazon Kids on Alexa in Australia, joining the 20 million kids and parents around the world who are already using the service. We can now provide mums and dads peace of mind in knowing that their kids are getting child-directed content, and new kid skills in an environment that parents can easily manage via our Parent Dashboard tools.”

Parents can automatically filter songs with explicit lyrics from Amazon Music, Apple Music or Spotify, set bedtime and time limits or pause Echo devices for dinner or homework time, choose which services and skills can be used, and see kid’s Alexa activity, plus review their voice recordings in the Alexa app.  

Kids can also ask Alexa questions about school subjects like science, maths, or geography or request guidance on spelling or word definitions. Kids can also enjoy fun experiences from ABC Kids, Kinderling Kids, Nickelodeon, and more.  

Parents can use the Alexa app to activate Amazon Kids and set up a Child Profile by setting up a dedicated device in Kids’ Mode or setting up a child voice ID and/or visual ID so Alexa recognises the child on shared devices.